08-29-2004, 05:45 AM
JUNEAU AREA FISHING REPORT
King Salmon (95 hours per fish the week, last week 132 hours): Backside of Douglas Island; North Pass
Coho Salmon (5 hours per fish this week, last week 4 hours): Shelter Island; North Pass; Backside of Douglas Island;
Halibut: (6 hours per fish, last week 6 hours): Poundstone Rock; South Shelter; Vanderbilt Reef; Icy Strait
Notation Used in this Report
Some anglers may not be aware of many terms used in this report; such as, rod hours, catch, effort, or catch and harvest rates. Below is a brief description of each term:
Rod Hours: For marine boat anglers in Southeastern, Alaska, this refers to the number of hours spent targeting a species of fish (halibut, salmon, rockfish, or bottomfish) per rod used. For example, an angler who harvested 2 coho salmon after 6 hours of salmon fishing with two rods would have spent 6 rod hours per fish.
Catch: Catch is composed of fish harvested and released.
Effort: For marine boat anglers in Southeastern, Alaska, effort refers to the number of rod hours spent pursuing a particular species of fish. For example, the previously described coho angler expended 12 hours of salmon fishing effort.
Catch and Harvest Rates: These rates are commonly referred to as catch per unit of effort (CPUE) or harvest per unit of effort (HPUE) and can be calculated using a variety of statistical methods. In general, they describe how much effort (e.g. rod hours) was expended catching, or harvesting, a particular species of fish (e.g. halibut).
And as a reminder to all anglers, please be aware of the following regulation.
For all boats returning to a port where an ADF&G creel survey is being conducted, it is prohibited to head or fillet king salmon, coho salmon or lingcod until the fish have been brought to shore and offloaded. This prohibition allows our marine creel survey crew to examine intact salmon for evidence of coded wire tags (CWTs) and to measure and collect the heads from these tagged fish. Among other things, this information is used to estimate the composition of hatchery king salmon caught in Alaska fisheries that can be excluded from Alaska's quota of king salmon as set by the U.S/Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty. Since hatchery king salmon do not count toward our quota, determining the proportion of hatchery kings that can be excluded from the quota has the potential of maximizing our total harvest of king salmon. Gutting and gilling your king or coho is allowed at any time while you are at sea; as is, eating them or having them completely preserved (i.e. canning, freezing, etc.) Aside from those exceptions, your catch of king and coho salmon may not be headed and/or filleted until your vessel has been tied up at the dock.
Regarding coded-wire-tagged salmon, if you are surveyed by a Department creel census technician, you are required to forfeit the head and the date/area you caught the fish.
Coho Salmon: Coho catch rates have been excellent and continue to improve in most ports as the season progresses:
Regional [ul] [li]Regional catch rates for coho salmon by marine boat anglers were generally equal or better than the 5 year average. Catch rates for coho salmon ranged from 1 rod hour in Sitka, Gustavus, and Elfin Cove to 11 rod hours in Wrangell. The ports of Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Gustavus, and Elfin Cove all had coho salmon catch rates better than or equal to their respective five-year averages, while in Craig, Juneau, and Wrangell last week's rates were poorer than the five-year average. [/li][/ul]
Local Juneau Area [ul] [li]Coho catch rates in the Juneau area were slightly poorer than average last week. Last week, marine boat anglers put in 5 hours on average to land a coho. Last year during the same week it took angler 3 hours to land a coho, which is one hour less than the five-year average. Popular fishing sites for coho include Handtrollers Cove, Point Retreat, South Shelter, Backside of Douglas Island, and Point Salisbury. [/li][/ul] [left]King Salmon: Catch rates last week for chinook salmon at most ports continued to improve last week:[/left] [left]Regional
[ul] [li] For most ports, it took considerable effort to land a king salmon. Catch rates ranged from 5 rod hours per harvested chinook salmon in Sitka to 378 rod hours in Ketchikan. In comparison to the five-year average, last week's catch rates were better at the ports of Craig, Sitka, Skagway, Gustavus and Elfin Cove, while catch rates were poorer than the five-year average at Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell. [/li][/ul] [left]Local Juneau Area
[ul] [li] Catch rates for marine boaters increased over the last week. Last week it took the average marine boat angler 95 hours to land a king salmon. This is not as good as the catch rate last year when it took 48 hours per king, but better than five-year average of 96 hours per king salmon. Areas to fish for kings include the Backside of Douglas Island, South Shelter and North Pass.[/li][/ul] As salmon become more mature and approach spawning condition, their skin will darken. The flesh of these dark fish will eventually become less firm and less desirable for eating; however "blush" colored fish or even some darker fish may still be of good eating quality. Most dark king salmon caught in the fish creek pond and terminal area do not make good table fare this time of year. [left]Shoreline anglers fishing for king salmon near the mouth of Auke Creek should be aware that an emergency order (EO) has been issued that prohibits snagging in salt water at the creek mouth. The purpose of this EO is to protect the small run of sockeye salmon bound for the Auke Lake drainage. This EO prohibits all incidental snagging as well as the act of snagging, regardless of whether or not a fish has been hooked. Anglers using large, weighted treble hooks will be considered as being in violation of this EO. All fishing sport fishing regulations for this area will be strictly enforced. Sport fishing violations observed in this area will result in the area being closed to all fishing. [/left] [left]To reduce incidental snagging, anglers should avoid using lures with treble hooks and try using lures that have single, smaller hooks (one-half inch or less between the point and shank). Also, casting and retrieving whole herring or salmon roe from a bobber is a good way of catching these king salmon while reducing incidental snagging.[/left] [left]The area where snagging is prohibited is in the immediate area of the mouth of Auke Creek. By definition, this area encompasses all saltwater inside of a boundary line that from the Auke Bay Laboratory's boat dock south to the buoys marking the location of the laboratory's salt water intake pipe, and finally extending to a departmental regulatory marker on the Fritz Cove Rd. shoreline [/left]
King Salmon (95 hours per fish the week, last week 132 hours): Backside of Douglas Island; North Pass
Coho Salmon (5 hours per fish this week, last week 4 hours): Shelter Island; North Pass; Backside of Douglas Island;
Halibut: (6 hours per fish, last week 6 hours): Poundstone Rock; South Shelter; Vanderbilt Reef; Icy Strait
Notation Used in this Report
Some anglers may not be aware of many terms used in this report; such as, rod hours, catch, effort, or catch and harvest rates. Below is a brief description of each term:
Rod Hours: For marine boat anglers in Southeastern, Alaska, this refers to the number of hours spent targeting a species of fish (halibut, salmon, rockfish, or bottomfish) per rod used. For example, an angler who harvested 2 coho salmon after 6 hours of salmon fishing with two rods would have spent 6 rod hours per fish.
Catch: Catch is composed of fish harvested and released.
Effort: For marine boat anglers in Southeastern, Alaska, effort refers to the number of rod hours spent pursuing a particular species of fish. For example, the previously described coho angler expended 12 hours of salmon fishing effort.
Catch and Harvest Rates: These rates are commonly referred to as catch per unit of effort (CPUE) or harvest per unit of effort (HPUE) and can be calculated using a variety of statistical methods. In general, they describe how much effort (e.g. rod hours) was expended catching, or harvesting, a particular species of fish (e.g. halibut).
And as a reminder to all anglers, please be aware of the following regulation.
For all boats returning to a port where an ADF&G creel survey is being conducted, it is prohibited to head or fillet king salmon, coho salmon or lingcod until the fish have been brought to shore and offloaded. This prohibition allows our marine creel survey crew to examine intact salmon for evidence of coded wire tags (CWTs) and to measure and collect the heads from these tagged fish. Among other things, this information is used to estimate the composition of hatchery king salmon caught in Alaska fisheries that can be excluded from Alaska's quota of king salmon as set by the U.S/Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty. Since hatchery king salmon do not count toward our quota, determining the proportion of hatchery kings that can be excluded from the quota has the potential of maximizing our total harvest of king salmon. Gutting and gilling your king or coho is allowed at any time while you are at sea; as is, eating them or having them completely preserved (i.e. canning, freezing, etc.) Aside from those exceptions, your catch of king and coho salmon may not be headed and/or filleted until your vessel has been tied up at the dock.
Regarding coded-wire-tagged salmon, if you are surveyed by a Department creel census technician, you are required to forfeit the head and the date/area you caught the fish.
Coho Salmon: Coho catch rates have been excellent and continue to improve in most ports as the season progresses:
Regional [ul] [li]Regional catch rates for coho salmon by marine boat anglers were generally equal or better than the 5 year average. Catch rates for coho salmon ranged from 1 rod hour in Sitka, Gustavus, and Elfin Cove to 11 rod hours in Wrangell. The ports of Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Gustavus, and Elfin Cove all had coho salmon catch rates better than or equal to their respective five-year averages, while in Craig, Juneau, and Wrangell last week's rates were poorer than the five-year average. [/li][/ul]
Local Juneau Area [ul] [li]Coho catch rates in the Juneau area were slightly poorer than average last week. Last week, marine boat anglers put in 5 hours on average to land a coho. Last year during the same week it took angler 3 hours to land a coho, which is one hour less than the five-year average. Popular fishing sites for coho include Handtrollers Cove, Point Retreat, South Shelter, Backside of Douglas Island, and Point Salisbury. [/li][/ul] [left]King Salmon: Catch rates last week for chinook salmon at most ports continued to improve last week:[/left] [left]Regional
[ul] [li] For most ports, it took considerable effort to land a king salmon. Catch rates ranged from 5 rod hours per harvested chinook salmon in Sitka to 378 rod hours in Ketchikan. In comparison to the five-year average, last week's catch rates were better at the ports of Craig, Sitka, Skagway, Gustavus and Elfin Cove, while catch rates were poorer than the five-year average at Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell. [/li][/ul] [left]Local Juneau Area
[ul] [li] Catch rates for marine boaters increased over the last week. Last week it took the average marine boat angler 95 hours to land a king salmon. This is not as good as the catch rate last year when it took 48 hours per king, but better than five-year average of 96 hours per king salmon. Areas to fish for kings include the Backside of Douglas Island, South Shelter and North Pass.[/li][/ul] As salmon become more mature and approach spawning condition, their skin will darken. The flesh of these dark fish will eventually become less firm and less desirable for eating; however "blush" colored fish or even some darker fish may still be of good eating quality. Most dark king salmon caught in the fish creek pond and terminal area do not make good table fare this time of year. [left]Shoreline anglers fishing for king salmon near the mouth of Auke Creek should be aware that an emergency order (EO) has been issued that prohibits snagging in salt water at the creek mouth. The purpose of this EO is to protect the small run of sockeye salmon bound for the Auke Lake drainage. This EO prohibits all incidental snagging as well as the act of snagging, regardless of whether or not a fish has been hooked. Anglers using large, weighted treble hooks will be considered as being in violation of this EO. All fishing sport fishing regulations for this area will be strictly enforced. Sport fishing violations observed in this area will result in the area being closed to all fishing. [/left] [left]To reduce incidental snagging, anglers should avoid using lures with treble hooks and try using lures that have single, smaller hooks (one-half inch or less between the point and shank). Also, casting and retrieving whole herring or salmon roe from a bobber is a good way of catching these king salmon while reducing incidental snagging.[/left] [left]The area where snagging is prohibited is in the immediate area of the mouth of Auke Creek. By definition, this area encompasses all saltwater inside of a boundary line that from the Auke Bay Laboratory's boat dock south to the buoys marking the location of the laboratory's salt water intake pipe, and finally extending to a departmental regulatory marker on the Fritz Cove Rd. shoreline [/left]